Gasification of coal may produce a product gas stream which finds use in a wide variety of processes. It is possible, for example, to utilize the partial oxidation products of coal gasification to provide a feed gas stream for operations which utilize, (i) a carbon monoxide-containing stream as charge to a chemical process, (ii) a hydrogen-containing stream as charge to a hydrogenation-type operation, (iii) a stream containing carbon monoxide and hydrogen as charge to e.g. an alcohol production operation, etc. When the product gas from coal gasification is to be used in several of these processes (i.e. when some of the gas is to go to e.g. a chemical plant requiring a charge carbon monoxide feed and some is to go via a shift converter to a chemical synthesis operation), thermal inefficiencies arise due to the differences in temperature and chemical constituents required for the designated reactions and the techniques required to effect the necessary changes in temperature and composition of the gas stream.
It is an object of this invention to provide a process and apparatus wherein high process efficiencies are attained. Other objects will be apparent to those skilled-in-the-art.